In the end, the Meg ended up winning the day. There are a lot of reasons for this. The Meg is an outstanding rebreather in just about every way, but perhaps the most compelling reason for my decision was the fact that most of the people I tech dive with regularly are using them. This is not to say that getting a unit simply because your friends are diving it is a good idea, but there is really something to be said for all members of a team using similar equipment.
After picking up my Meg and completing my training with Leon in Centrailia, WA last month, I continue to feel good about my decision. When he starts talking about the Meg, Leon sounds like a proud father, and the amount of thought and planning that has gone into every aspect of this outstanding rebreather becomes more and more evident each time I dive it. I am particularly impressed with the water traps in the “T” pieces and the drain valve in the exhalation counterlung. Assuming you aren’t doing summersaults, it seems virtually impossible for water to enter the scrubber canister.
I’ll be anxiously awaiting the Apecs 3 software which will have constant PO2 decompression software built in. Leon has established a relationship with deco guru Bill Hamilton, and word around the campfire is that the algorithm in Apecs 3 will be written by the man himself!
I’m still flying with clipped wings though because my VR3 does not do constant P02 deco. I have one of the original square VR3′s that came from OMS, and Delta P is telling me that there is no way to upgrade the code to do constant P02. That sounds a little fishy since I remember buying it with CCR constant P02 as an option. It kind of seems like someone is looking to sell another VR3. Weather I buy another VR3 or simply upgrade to Apecs 3 depends on the how much the Apecs 3 upgrade will cost. I can certainly see some benefit to having everything built into one nice package, but the redundancy you get from having a constant P02 VR3 hooked up to its own independent cell makes for some really nice fault tollerance.
I’m really quite happy with my Meg, and I’m really excited to start putting some hours on it. I thoroughly enjoyed Leon’s training program. I was able to meet some great new people, hang out with some old friends, see Ron, whom I had not seen in years, and meet a new dive buddy who lives near my home.
Rebreather Evaluation – Part 4: The Megalodon >
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Nice writeup!
Well done! I like the way you approach this!
Additional I have compared the Meg and the Inspiration here:
http://www.therebreathersite.nl/megalodon_in_holland.htm
I hope this can be of any help.
Cheers;
Janwillem
[...] He is offering them for sale, but as one might expect in the world of rebreathers, they don’t come cheap. The titanium model can be had for just under $2,000, while the allumnium version comes in at a little under $800.00. As far as I can tell it’s worth every penny though if you have an inspiration. I know I’d have my order in if I’d gotten one instead of my Meg. [...]